-It is said that every life has its roses and thorns; there seemed, however, to have been a misadventure or mistake in Stephen-s case, whereby somebody else had become possessed of his roses, and he had become possessed of somebody else-s thorns in addition to his own.-Published originally in weekly instalments, Hard Times is focusing on Mr Gradgrind-s flawed model of upbringing and its lifelong impact on the wellbeing and destinies of his children. The novel, in fact, follows two opposing ways an individual can be formed. On the one hand, there is Tom and Louisa whose numerous misfortunes are predetermined by their father-s insistence on knowing bare facts without reaching for the substance. They are ill-equipped for the real world and, as a result, Louisa suffers emotionally having had a marriage of convenience, while Tom intentionally devises to incriminate another for his own misdeed. On the other hand, there is Mr Gradgrind-s student Sissy, whose guardi
